Nicholas Quirke was amazed by the prescience of his Horoscope for 12 January 2020. “Your mind is on the world at large in a very profound way…. The moon is in your house of Foreign affairs, bringing a global matter related to your life to a point of completion or fulfilment”. He read this, having put the relentless and punishing clearance of his flat behind him, as he set off with Kate and Cole to London to begin his journey to the East. He was ‘shaking the dust of this crummy little town of his feet‘ and doing one for George Bailey. The relief he felt at having put an end to the all consuming stress of letting his flat had lifted his spirits for the first time in weeks and a euphoria descended as he set of with Cole to leave his car with his sister. Nicholas gave pause to thank his car for setting him off on the route he was pursuing. He loved a road trip and driving to China had enormous appeal but as soon as that thought existed he had dismissed it, as an image of himself trying to find his way across Europe and out of Siberia loomed large in his imagination and with his organisational skills he felt he certainly would perish. A train journey though, that was Epic.  After Kate had given him a medical kit to cover every eventuality she drove them to London in a light hearted and fun mood, though Nicholas introduced a moment of sobriety when he handed the paperwork for his funeral arrangements and his last will and Testament to his sister for safe keeping in his absence, and of course, in the event of some terrible misadventure. It was not a thought that went down with his offspring or sibling but they bounced back from the gloom and found some hilarity in their drive, They stopped off in Stoke Newington to drop off some of the detritus from vacating his home with Harvey and Grace and then onto St Pancras for him to catch the 17.19 EuroStar to Brussels. It was a swift goodbye as he was ushered through bob the Eurostar officials and he held as tightly onto his sons as his emotions, though he really felt overwhelmed knowing it might be a year, maybe less or maybe more before he saw them and his family In the flesh again. Boarding Eurostar was like taking a flight and it seemed a long wait. He was aware of how heavy his suitcase was and vowed to repack when he got to his hotel. It’s was already 8 by the time he arrived and after fulfilling his promise and ridding himself of some accoutrements A shower and bed to prepare for the next leg Of his journey.